The City in the Hebrew Bible

The volume makes a special and significant contribution to the ongoing scholarly efforts to focus on the theme of the city and observe how that focus illuminates the broader interpretation of biblical books and specific texts. The collection should find a home in libraries serving both scholars and students. * Religious Studies Review * Overall, The City in the Hebrew Bible is a well-conceived, comprehensive treatment of an overlooked topic. Each of the authors invites us into their looking glass, granting us permission to view the city from new angles and perspectives, allowing us to see the biblical city under brighter lights. * Bulletin for Biblical Research *

James K. Aitken is Lecturer in Hebrew, Old Testament and Second Temple Studies at the University of Cambridge, UK. Hilary F. Marlow is Course Director of the Faraday Institute for Science and Religion, University of Cambridge, UK.

Preface Acknowledgements Abbreviations Section 1: Setting the Scene 1. Introduction: A City Perspective James K. Aitken, University of Cambridge, UK 2. Reflections on the Meaning(s) of 'City' in the Hebrew Bible Alison Gray, University of Cambridge, UK 3. The City as Metropolis Hugh Pyper, University of Sheffield, UK Section 2: Perspectives from Critical Theory and Cultural Geography 4. Mapping Narrative Complexity: Textual Geography, Literary Studies, and the City in the Hebrew Bible -- Bradford A. Anderson, Dublin City University, Ireland 5. A Land with Fine Large Cities: Mapping the Landscapes of Deuteronomy Hilary F. Marlow, University of Cambridge, UK 6. City as Labyrinth: the Song of Songs and the Urban Uncanny Christopher Meredith, St Marys University Twickenham, UK 7. Wasteland and Pastoral Idyll as Images of the Biblical City Mary Mills, Liverpool Hope University, UK 8. Urban Planning according to Ezekiel: The Shape of the Restored Jerusalem -- Deborah Rooke, University of Oxford, UK Section 3: Literary and Exegetical Perspectives 9. City Parody as a Literary Trope in Biblical Texts Carla Sulzbach, Independent Scholar 10. Contested Eponymy: Cain, Enoch, and the Cities of Genesis 1-11 Robert Gordon, University of Cambridge, UK 11. Therefore We Will Not Fear? The Psalms of Zion in Psycho-Linguistic Perspective Rebecca Watson, University of Cambridge, UK 12. Among the Ruins of a Walled City: Reflections on War and Peace in Ecclesiastes 12.1-7 Stephen J. Bennett, Nyack College, USA Index